Late 60s Ice Cream Van companies on the South Coast

[Siberian Snooper]

We had all 3 companies at one time or another until we left Horsham in 1971, I can't remember what the vehicles were though.

 

 

[acg5324]

10 hours ago, Siberian Snooper said:

We had all 3 companies at one time or another until we left Horsham in 1971, I can't remember what the vehicles were though.

 

 

Same here in Brighton. Tonibell was the most regular up our street. Seem to remember it being a Bedford CA.

[34theletterbetweenB&D]

Profoundly ignorant of everything in this field, apart from long ago queuing to get a raspberry mivvi or a 99; I was surprised by a quick search that specialist vehicle conversion operations for this trade are still active. Haven't seen one operating for years... 

[Owd Bob]

i know nowt about them either, i took a few pics' along the way though, when i thought the CFs were rare in the mid 2000's, we had CA's around here in the 60's & 70's mostly run by Italian family firms such as Rossi's, Manfreddi and Fredericks. I think a firm called Morrisons in Crewe built a lot of ice cream vans.

[Nearholmer]

1 hour ago, 34theletterbetweenB&D said:

Haven't seen one operating for years... 

 

One still patrols our area in summer, and they are a hugely fashionable thing to have at weddings, family parties, corporate events etc, usually consciously retro ones.

 

Here’s a local one that stands outside a cafe most of the time, but turns up at fetes and things too. It looks good, but I would not be able to provide a favourable review of the ice cream ...... they don’t get it right!

 

 

 

 

[Owd Bob]

That looks like a repro' thing based on a Sherpa or leyland/LDV/DAF type vehicle?

[Nearholmer]

It’s certainly not old. Most of the ‘fancy’ ones are modern conversions of older vehicles, or what amount to fakes, but there are a few genuinely old ones about.

[John M Upton]

There is an ice cream van for sale on Ebay now which is based on a tri axle Land Rover Carmichael fire tender conversion!!! 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1975-6x6-Range-Rover/143540570249?

 

[Al51]

The Ice Cream van brands I remember from the Havant area in the late 60's were Verrecchia and Tonibell. Bedford Dormobiles were commonly used. Are you going to have a sound file that plays the 'music'?

 

Al

Edited February 27, 2020 by Al51
spelling

[PhilJ W]

3 minutes ago, John M Upton said:

There is an ice cream van for sale on Ebay now which is based on a tri axle Land Rover Carmichael fire tender conversion!!! 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1975-6x6-Range-Rover/143540570249?

 

This looks very much like the replacement for the Landrover I mentioned earlier. They were used on a beach and several of their predecesors had got stuck and caught by the tide.

[Owd Bob]

I remember 'Arkwrights' Bedford CA mobile shop/ice cream van in 'Open All Hours'

[Fat Controller]

2 hours ago, Owd Bob said:

i know nowt about them either, i took a few pics' along the way though, when i thought the CFs were rare in the mid 2000's, we had CA's around here in the 60's & 70's mostly run by Italian family firms such as Rossi's, Manfreddi and Fredericks. I think a firm called Morrisons in Crewe built a lot of ice cream vans.

https://www.whitbymorrison.com/about/ will take you to their site.

[Robert Searle]

This one was at The Hampton Court Garden Show last year

 

[Owd Bob]

Just found another pic' a late '70's Sherpa version

 

[BernardTPM]

4 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

 

3 hours ago, Owd Bob said:

Just found another pic' a late '70's Sherpa version

 

Two Sherpas! (The pre-War Bedford looks genuine old, though whether it was originally an ice cream van is less certain).

[Ian Morgan]

 

[Ian Morgan]

There are plenty of ice cream van chimes recordings available on YouTube. I put together a sound player using an Arduino and MP3 player that uses a mini SD memory card, based on an article in a Merg Journal. It plays a random tune from ten on the push of a button, or after 5 minutes of being left idle. This is now installed in an O gauge layout owned by a club member.

 

Edited June 27, 2023 by Ian Morgan
re-loaded image

[Steamport Southport]

Steam ice cream van converted from a Thorneycroft bus.

 

 

https://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/4580832

 

 

 

Jason

[Gwiwer]

We lived briefly in Fareham during the mid-60s.  The regular ice-cream man then was from the local firm of Verrechia.  They traded between Chichester and Fareham and were based I believe in Portsmouth.  

 

There are or have been numerous Verrechia ice-cream businesses including one currently trading from Cambridge which might be the same business relocated.  

 

The vans were cream and orange.  A Google image search for "Verrechia ice cream" will produce a range of images which might prove useful to OP.  

[Geep7]

This is what I love about RMWeb. Ask an obscure question (in model railway terms) and the thread takes off with a life of it's own. Loads of stuff of great interest here. Thanks everyone who has contributed so far.

 

From my own perspective, for my layout I'll probably go for an Oxford Diecast Lyons Maid Bedford CA for now, as that is the closest match I can find for my period r-t-r, and from what I can find out Tonibell would have been taken over by Lyons by 1969-70.

 

Oxford don't seem to do a Verrechia liveried vehicle in their range, but it's not beyond me to do a repaint, once I find a decent photo of a prototype.

[Joseph_Pestell]

16 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

 

 

I would be interested to know a bit more about the history of this vehicle. 1920s and 1930s R-R's could be picked up quite cheaply in the early 1960s and I would suspect that would be the date that this was converted from hearse (?) to ice cream van.

[PhilJ W]

8 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

I would be interested to know a bit more about the history of this vehicle. 1920s and 1930s R-R's could be picked up quite cheaply in the early 1960s and I would suspect that would be the date that this was converted from hearse (?) to ice cream van.

A lot of these vehicles started out as conventional cars and were converted to hearses in the late 40's early 50's.

[Joseph_Pestell]

33 minutes ago, PhilJ W said:

A lot of these vehicles started out as conventional cars and were converted to hearses in the late 40's early 50's.

 

Yes indeed. My father's third R-R (1963 - 1965) had been a saloon but later converted to an estate (wooden-bodied) to collect visitors' luggage from the local station and bring it to the House (I don't know which particular estate but I think it was in Scotland).

 

Dad bought all three of his R-R's from an eccentric chap called Bunty Scott-Moncrieff who was based somewhere near Leek, Staffs in, as I recall it (aged three at the time) a rather rundown farm yard.

 

It was not until the 1940s that R-R's appeared with standardised bodywork. Until then R-R just built the rolling chassis and bodywork was very bespoke.

[Fat Controller]

47 minutes ago, Joseph_Pestell said:

 

Yes indeed. My father's third R-R (1963 - 1965) had been a saloon but later converted to an estate (wooden-bodied) to collect visitors' luggage from the local station and bring it to the House (I don't know which particular estate but I think it was in Scotland).

 

Dad bought all three of his R-R's from an eccentric chap called Bunty Scott-Moncrieff who was based somewhere near Leek, Staffs in, as I recall it (aged three at the time) a rather rundown farm yard.

 

It was not until the 1940s that R-R's appeared with standardised bodywork. Until then R-R just built the rolling chassis and bodywork was very bespoke.

The house (of considerable size) was called 'Basford Hall' (IIRC) and was near Cheddleton. In the late 1970s, some friends of mine rented a couple of the farm cottages. If you thought the place was run down when you went there... 

On one visit, we almost collided with an old Bugatti, being driven as though the hounds of hell were following; it turned out that Mrs Moncrieff had been a successful racing driver in the 1950s, being part of the Lotus team. She'd never got out of the habit of driving on the edges of her wheels.

 

[Joseph_Pestell]

I don't think our R-R had been used at Basford. Just one of many that "Bunty" sold as a dealer. But very interesting info (for me anyway). I will look it up.

 

Sorry for thread diversion. I will post scans of some of Dad's vehicles on the old cars thread.